Angler Completely Obliterates Alabama State Record With 550-Pound Swordfish

The bar just got raised a lot higher in Alabama.

Aboard their 60-foot Hatteras named the Trading Desk, Robert Fritze and his crew made an early exit Aug. 14 from Orange Beach Marina for a multi-day fishing trip offshore in the Gulf of America, and they ended up catching one hell of a prize: a 550-pound swordfish.

The funny thing is, they were going for marlin, but ended up setting a new state record (pending) for swordfish instead — a trade-off I’m sure they don’t mind making.

“We wanted marlin, but that day we caught some dolphin, blackfin tuna and a 35-pound wahoo,” said Fritze while speaking with Outdoor Life. “Later that afternoon, we hooked a barracuda. As we were bringing it in, a 200-pound-class blue marlin chased the hooked ‘cuda and tried to eat it, but unfortunately we didn’t hook that fish.” (RELATED: Sharks, Alligator Spotted Swimming Together In Strange Scene In South Carolina)

Throughout the afternoon, the crew fished prior to rigging a deep-drop setup meant for swordfish. They used squid bait with heavy weight and a light stick, drifting in 1,500 feet of ocean overnight. Around 4 a.m., when everyone was asleep, the clicker of the reel started going off.

The fight between Fritze and the swordfish went on for a whopping four and a half hours.

Afterwards, they went back to Orange Beach Marina to report and weigh the swordfish, and it officially came in at 550.3 pounds on scales that are certified. It completely obliterated the Alabama state record being 100 pounds more than the current record of 448 pounds. That catch was made by Wendell Sawyer in 2006, coming in at 150 inches long and having a girth of 62 inches.

The paperwork for the swordfish has been submitted, according to Fritze. Once it becomes verified, it will officially be placed as the new record swordfish in the state of Alabama.

Mammoth fish and Category 5 hurricanes … it’s incredible what the Gulf of America can produce.